Xie Yanfang did not accompany Chu Zhao to see Xie Yanlai. Of course, whatever happened in the household, like flowing water, would always eventually reach him.
“They nearly came to blows,” said Steward Cai. “What could they possibly have to quarrel about?”
Xie Yanfang kept his head down, busy with his work, and said casually, “Those two have always gotten to know each other through conflict.”
Steward Cai said, “They’ve both schemed all the way to you, young master. Why go through all that extra trouble? Scheming against both brothers—isn’t Miss Chu afraid of breaking her teeth?”
Xie Yanfang said with a smile, “Steward Cai, don’t be so harsh on a young girl. She has neither father nor mother by her side. When she’s been bullied, naturally she’ll try to fight back. That’s human nature, and it’s commendable. If I were in her position, I would do the same.”
“Why do you always compare a young girl to yourself?” Steward Cai said helplessly. “Do you really see this young girl as your younger self?”
Xie Yanfang laughed heartily. “She’s just somewhat as interesting as I was in my youth. But if she truly were like me—”
He lifted his brush and lightly marked a letter.
“I would kill her.”
Only he knew how terrifying he truly was.
……
……
The carriage swayed as it left the Xie residence. Chu Zhao leaned against the carriage wall with her eyes closed, as if exhausted.
A’Le suddenly exclaimed beside her.
“What is it?” Chu Zhao quickly opened her eyes and saw A’Le holding a small gourd—or rather, something like a gourd but also like a cricket cage, delicate and lovely, jade-green and translucent.
So this was—
“A cricket cage carved from a gourd,” A’Le said with a smile. “It belongs to A’Jiu. The maids showed it to me and I forgot about it, so I brought it out.”
After thinking for a moment, she snorted.
“Well, since I took it, I took it. Consider it his apology to you, young miss.”
She stuffed the cricket cage into Chu Zhao’s hands.
Chu Zhao accepted it with a smile and shook it in her hand. “Then when we get back, we’ll catch a cricket to keep in it.”
A’Le nodded with a smile, then sighed. “That A’Jiu—his temper is still so bad. I don’t think he’ll help.”
Chu Zhao said, “Actually, I don’t know if he’ll help either. We can only try.”
“Are a few medicinal pills too little?” A’Le said, patting her coin purse. “We have money now. How about we gild the pills?”
Chu Zhao burst out laughing. “He wouldn’t care about that at all.”
A’Le didn’t laugh. She frowned worriedly. “Then how do we convince him?”
Chu Zhao said, “With sincerity, I suppose. Who knows—perhaps he’ll be moved.”
What was sincerity? A’Le was even more confused.
“Many things. The pills you made are part of it, my going to see him is part of it, the words I said are part of it,” Chu Zhao said with a smile. “Everything counts. It just depends on which one touches his heart.”
This time A’Le laughed heartily. “Young miss, forget about your visit touching his heart—you nearly got into a fight with him!”
Chu Zhao laughed along. “Well, he is rather asking for a beating.”
The mistress and servant bumped their heads together, laughing and giggling in the carriage when it suddenly jolted to a stop.
“Young miss,” the coachman said timidly, “there’s someone—”
Someone blocking the carriage? Was it Liang Qin again? A’Le aggressively lifted the curtain. “Who—huh?”
She didn’t finish her shout. Seeing the person standing in front of the carriage, she quickly stopped herself.
The person in front of the carriage had already been startled by A’Le’s fierce demeanor.
“Miss A’Le, I, I came to—ah, this whole thing is my fault,” Zhang Gu said, his face flushing red. “Many people did come to the courier station to inquire. I already instructed everyone not to speak carelessly, but somehow, word got out—”
He bowed as he spoke.
“No matter what I say, it’s useless. I apologize to Miss Chu—”
Chu Zhao had already jumped down from the carriage. “Officer Zhang, please rise quickly. This matter has nothing to do with you all.”
A’Le jumped down after her, and hearing Chu Zhao’s words, rushed to help Zhang Gu up.
“I know it wasn’t you,” Chu Zhao said earnestly. “This matter was—”
Zhang Gu looked uneasy and said urgently, “It wouldn’t have been A’Jiu.”
Chu Zhao looked at him and stopped speaking.
“A’Jiu isn’t that kind of person,” Zhang Gu said. After saying this, he felt somewhat awkward. What kind of person was A’Jiu then? The kind like Xie Yanlai.
What kind of person was Xie Yanlai? A scion of the Xie family, someone who murdered and burned, who dominated the countryside—
What right did he have to assure this girl with such certainty that it wasn’t A’Jiu?
“Miss Chu, I’m just guessing blindly. It’s just that when A’Jiu was with us,” Zhang Gu lowered his head and said quietly, “he never allowed us to joke about you, and he never mentioned you. After returning to the capital, he disappeared completely.”
“Yes,” Chu Zhao said softly. “I know it wasn’t him. If he truly had such intentions, why would he wait until now?”
Not only did he have no such intentions, he avoided her. As a member of the Xie family, he hadn’t mentioned her once to Xie Yanfang.